The World
JPMorgan, Wells Fargo and Citigroup set aside a combined $28 billion to cover soured loans, a sign they expect the pandemic to take a heavy toll on consumers and companies. JPM posted a 2Q20 profit of $4.7 billion, a 51% drop. Citigroup’s 2Q20 profit fell 73%. Wells Fargo cut its dividend after sinking to $2.4bn loss, its first loss in a decade. JPM CEO Jamie Dimon: “This is not a normal recession.” (Wall Street Journal, Financial Times)
Delta slashed service and will add back no more than 500 flights in August instead of the 1,000 it had planned — and doesn’t see adding much more through year-end. CEO Ed Bastian: “Demand growth has largely stalled.” American and Southwest airlines warned of layoffs as both say they’re overstaffed by tens of thousands. Qantas removed nearly all international flight inventory until March, while Virgin Atlantic secured a £1.2bn rescue package to keep flying. (Bloomberg, WBAP, CNBC, Financial Times)
The federal government incurred the biggest monthly budget deficit in history in June at $864 billion. Meanwhile, the White House signaled openness to a compromise as the $600-per-week increased unemployment benefits for 30 million Americans expire in less than 2 weeks. (CNBC, Washington Post)
The UK will ban new Huawei equipment purchases starting in January, and said its technology must also be stripped from 5G networks by 2027. Meanwhile, British Telecom’s CEO says it would be impossible to strip Huawei out of UK telecoms within 10 years. (Financial Times, The Guardian)
Observers see a ‘heightened risk’ of military conflict over South China Sea, as the U.S. rejects China's 'nine-dash line' and Beijing said it would impose sanctions on Lockheed Martin — days after the U.S. approved a potential $620 million upgrade package for missiles to Taiwan. Meanwhile, China declared last weekend’s pro-democratic party primaries in Hong Kong “illegal,” saying that the candidates’ intention to vote against government legislation could break national security laws. (South China Morning Post, Nikkei Asian Review, AFP, The Guardian)
Canada and the U.S. are preparing to extend their non-essential travel ban, as Canada adds health officials at border crossings. (Reuters, CBC)
Most U.S. parents say it would be risky to send their children back to school in the fall — including a slim majority of Republicans and a staggering nine in 10 Black Americans. (Axios/Ipsos poll)
Economy & Finance
The U.S. consumer price index increased 0.6% last month — driven by food and gas costs — the biggest gain since Aug. 2012, after easing 0.1% in May and ending three straight months of declines. (Reuters)
UK's economy rebounded more slowly than expected in May, growing just 1.8% from the previous month — shrinking 24.5% since February. Singapore estimated its economy fell in 2Q20 by an annualized 41.2%. (BBC, Wall Street Journal)
Google is in advanced talks to buy a $4 billion stake in Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s technology venture, seeking to join Facebook in chasing growth in a promising internet and e-commerce market. (Bloomberg)
The U.S. moves to potentially restrict immigrant researchers come as Canada, China, the UK, Australia, and others have advanced flourishing tech hubs, world-class research institutions, and bold public policies to support R&D. (MIT Technology Review)
Technology
Apple told staff that a full return to US offices won't occur before the end of the year, as it is pushing retail staff to work remotely, shutting some stores again, and shipping COVID-19 test kits to employees' homes. (Sydney Morning Herald)
Twitch has unbanned President Trump, two weeks after suspending his account for “hateful conduct.” The account, used to broadcast new and past campaign rallies, was banned for racist comments made on two occasions. (The Verge)
YouTube Live and Facebook Live are being increasingly challenged by upstarts, including Twitch, Twitter and Snapchat, driven in part by users’ increased gaming. (Axios)
The U.S. podcast ad market grew 48% in 2019 to $708m. However, 2020 growth estimates were halved to 14.7% (to US$812m), as companies pulled or paused advertising campaigns. (PodNews, Los Angeles Times, IAB)
New research from MIT and the University of Regina found people are less likely to digitally share false stories about COVID-19 after they’ve been asked to evaluate the accuracy of another headline. (Fast Company)
Smart Links
Record numbers of Americans try to buy guns. (Wall Street Journal)
The math of social distancing is a lesson in geometry. (Quanta)
Georgia Tech’s real-time risk calculator shows risk level of attending an event, given size & location. (Georgia Tech)
Aztec palace found off Mexico City's main square. (BBC)
The Chicago Marathon was canceled for 2nd time in its history. (Chicago Tribune)
Amid coin shortage, Kroger to stop giving exact change to customers. (Fast Company)
AI shows all tourists basically take the same picture. (The Next Web)